Looking For Calm

I am in my first week of the mindful Schools curriculum training. I have signed up with a colleague and today our practice time was spent on trying to give each other a good definition of mindfulness. I think Jon Kabat Zinn has defined in the simplest terms, ones that I can identify with and relate to as I practice sitting each day and as I learn to begin to recognize fleeting thoughts. Trying to refocus only breath or another anchor of my choosing is an ongoing challenge. “To be in the present moment, on purpose and without judgement.” I went into our 4 th grade health/ teambuilding class today and we spent 10 minutes thinking and exploring mindful breathing. I was struck by how engaged the kids were- one said, “I felt myself having some thoughts and then I remembered my breathing . ” “‘I do not recall a time when I just sat and was quiet and still.” Yet the founder of Mindful Schools cautions us not to see mindfulness as a disciplinary tool or a tool where we seek only calm and are not cognizant of the other array of emotions we may be feeling at a given time. Because it is in being present with these more difficult emotions like anger or frustration or sadness that allow us to discover who we really are. This gave me reason to really consider the language I use with students, adults, and teachers. How do you convey what is in your heart and your experience? I trust that with continued practice and reflection, I will develop a language that fits.